642 Johnson Street – Carlton Plaza Hotel

The 1981 addition to the Carlton Plaza Hotel, Johnson Street and Broad Street

642 Johnson Street, now the Carlton Plaza Hotel. Originally built in 1912 as the King James Hotel.

Here is a map showing the location of the Carlton Plaza Hotel:

Here is a Google Street View image of the Carlton Plaza Hotel:

Additional Information About 642 Johnson Street

• Assessed Value (July 2018): $10,5483,000; Land: $2,515,000; Buildings: $7,968,000
• Assessed Value (July 2017): $9.560,000; Land: $3,300,000; Buildings: $6,260,000
• Assessed Value (July 2016): $8.700,000; Land: $3,138,000; Buildings: $5,562,000
• Assessed Value (July 2015): $8.445,000; Land: $2,705,000; Buildings: $5,740,000

A Brief History of 642 Johnson Street

642 Johnson Street is now the Carlton Plaza Hotel. It was originally built in 1912 by architects Emanuel J. Breseman and M. Eugene Durfee for Charles Hayward, a former Mayor of Victoria.

Emanuel J. Breseman (1881-1971) and M. Eugene Durfee (1886-1941) were Seattle based architects who opened a branch office in Victoria in 1911 and branch offices in Nanaimo and Vancouver in 1912.

Their other significant Victoria commission was the First Congregational Church at 1600-1602 Quadra Street. In Nanaimo, their works include the Commercial Hotel, built in 1913 at 121 Bastion Street and the Rawlinson & Glaholm Grocery, built in 1916 at 437 Fitzwilliam Street. Both of these Nanaimo projects are on the City of Nanaimo Heritage Register (note: PDF) and the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Bresemann and Durfee closed their Canadian branch offices circa 1914 and continued their practice from their Seattle office.

The original Breseman & Durfee design for this project was built for Charles Hayward, a former Mayor of Victoria. Although the Breseman & Durfee plans described the project as the Carlton Hotel, the hotel opened under the name St. James Hotel.

It has been the Carlton Plaza Hotel since 1981.

Here are links to some historic photographs of the Carlton Plaza Hotel and its predecessors:

• City of Victoria Archives photo M06707 – St. James Hotel, February 1916
• City of Victoria Archives photo M04361 – St. James Hotel, 1960
• City of Victoria Archives photo M04362 – 1966
• City of Victoria Archives photo M04363 – 1966
• City of Victoria Archives photo M03673 – 1970

For more information see:

• Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

Charles Hayward’s house is still standing at 1003 Vancouver Street: